This Week in Comments

Landlords firing doormen to cut costs
Wouldn’t a more aggressive action be to lower rents and ensure full occupancy of a building? The rents were unrealistic before. If I were a renter in a luxury building, or an owner, the last thing I would want to see disappear would be the doorman. Seems to me, landlords/developers have not gotten the USA economic message yet, and are continuing along their greed-driven paths.

Sellers offer free furniture and financing to sell homes
Nobody wants your crappy old furniture. Lower the price.

Biggest price cut of the day
1. You’d have to pay me to live in a building with Trump’s name on it.
2. Donald Trump will throw [“Apprentice” participant] Dennis Rodman out of it.

Homes sell at discount in Hamptons auction
1. The Post article missed the key point of the auction. The properties that sold at 35 to 50 percent off asking have created the new market pricing for the Hamptons. There was no volume before from which to set prices. Serious sellers and sellers’ brokers need to look at these transactions, which were all non-contingent deals, to set prices for their homes.
2. New prices should be at least 50 percent off the old highs.

Port Authority changes Freedom Tower name
I agree that it’s a good move. If I were a terrorist I’d want to blow up a building called the Freedom Tower. Sure, I’ll still probably want to blow up a building called 1 WTC, but perhaps I’d choose the Empire State [Building] first.

Apthorp drops prices by one-third to spur sales
There aren’t enough rich people left in New York City who want to live
with rent-regulated tenants. Oh the horror of riding the elevator with
a rent-controlled $400 a month, two-bedroom, old-time tenant while you
paid $3 million for your condo in the sky.